Antelope Park Lion Breeding & Rehabilitation Project in Zimbabwe

Cause Areas

When

It's flexible! We'll work with your schedule.

Where

ZimbabweAntelope Park, GweruNAZW

About

The Project

Volunteer on a world first lion breeding and rehabilitation project, supported by some of the worlds leading ecologists in the field. We invite you to walk with African Lions, to be involved in our in-depth research and data-collection activities and to help rehabilitate lions back into their natural environment. Spending time with the lions in the wild each day is an essential part of the cubs upbringing. If the cubs are to be successfully released it is important that they spend time out in a natural environment. They need to adapt to it, learn from it, understand, observe, feel and smell the wild.

As part of this 4-step programme, we are breeding and building prides with good blood lines who will learn to live in a semi-wild environment. The offspring on these prides will eventually be released into the wild, never having had human contact, and it is this 4 -stage programme which is unique in the field. Join our team of professional guides and other dedicated volunteers, gain a deeper understanding of the King of Beasts and assist us in gathering vital information that will facilitate their eventual release.

Why the project needs you

Over 200,000 lions roamed the African continent as recently as 1975. In 2002 two surveys provided evidence of a dramatic decline estimating that only 23,000 to 39,000 remain, with the lowest estimate being just 16,500. This represents an 80 to 90% population decline in less than 30 years. It is widely accepted that the population has continued to decline in the subsequent years, and those that remain have weak, in-bred genetics which are not healthy to the species’ future. The end objective of the Antelope Park lion project, along with our Victoria Falls program, is the rehabilitation of captive-bred lions into a wild environment so that their cubs, raised by the pride, can learn the skills necessary to ensure their successful reintroduction into the wild. Volunteer support is essential in supporting this ground-breaking research objective.